The Memory Tree
by madetohealxx
Summary: Hannah knew the common room just wouldn't be the same with Cedric gone, so she was determined to do whatever she could to make it feel like home again.


Hannah Abbott spent the summer after her fourth year at Hogwarts owling back and forth with her two best friends. Ernie and Justin made good sounding boards, and Hannah was determined to do something in memory of Cedric Diggory.

Hannah had always thought of Hufflepuff as a family. She obviously wasn't in any of the other houses, but she saw them around the grounds and the other students never seemed as close as the ones in Hufflepuff. And Cedric? Well Cedric was the best older brother any of them could have asked for. He didn't care what year you were in, where you were from, or how you felt about Quidditch- he would go out of his way to talk to you, or help you with your assignments, or sit with you at lunch. The first time Hannah really thought of Hogwarts as home was after Cedric- a fourth year and already looming over her- had sat with her in the common room and explained how _wingardium leviosa_ worked. He made her feel like that was where she really belonged.

Justin had teased her about her big stupid crush on Cedric for years, but it wasn't like that for her. Cedric Diggory was just so good that Hannah thought it was impossible NOT to be a little bit in love with him.

She knew the common room just wouldn't be the same with him gone, so she was determined to do whatever she could to make it feel like home again. The Hufflepuffs had walked around in a daze the last few days after the tournament, and Hannah couldn't stand a whole year of that. She had a plan: she was going to do something in Cedric's honor, something that would bring the house together and make everyone feel like they were family again. That was as far as her plan got though. It needed to be something that would welcome the first years but not make the seventh years feel like they were baby-sitting. It needed to bring everyone together but mix up all the usual cliques at the same time. And it needed to happen the first week of school. She knew that was when everyone would need it the most- the younger students would be homesick, the older students would be heartsick, and everyone in between would just be feeling lost.

One morning in the middle of July, she woke up from a stange dream about a talking tree. She kept trying to it shake it, but a part of it kept nudging her, as if her brain knew she was missing something important. She told the dream to her Uncle Tom, who said it reminded him of a tree he had read about that could repeat back stories it was told. Once the idea clicked, but she knew it was a winner right away. She sent out an owl to Professor Sprout, and they started working out the details.

She spent the last few weeks of summer planning as much as she could. The journey on the Hogwarts Express was spent cajoling the prefects into helping- or at least not hindering- them and coming up with a firm action plan. She spent the first week at school calling in favors and asking people to make banners and fliers for the event, on top of asking the house elves if they would provide snacks. (They happily agreed- they told her Cedric had always been kind to them.)

Finally Saturday arrived. She spent most of it running back and forth between the kitchens and the common room, making sure everything would be perfect. she had enlisted the help of the other students to make decorations and hang fliers. Hannah paused in her preparations to watch students who didn't really know each other strike up a conversation while hanging a banner or team up to badger people into attending the memorial that afternoon. She knew Cedric would have been proud.

That afternoon, Hannah watched all of the students shuffle back into the common room, and smiled at them bragging to each other about the banners they created and the decorations they hung. Giving everyone a purpose this first week was just step one in the plan.

After everyone was inside and settled, Hannah stepped to the front of the room. It was a little scary to be addressing a roomful of people, but she kept picturing Cedric, sitting in the back of the room and encouraging her. "First, I want to thank you all for coming, and for your help in setting this up. I couldn't have done any of it without all of you. The whole point of today was to bring us all together, and you've exceeded anything I could have hoped for already.

"Second, I want to talk about Cedric Diggory. Cedric was a true Hufflepuff. He worked hard, he was a loyal friend, and he treated everyone in this house like we were his family. I'm sure Cedric touched your lives as much as he touched mine, so I know this year is going to be hard for all of us. That's why I thought we should start it off right, with a memorial.

"Today we're here to remember Cedric Diggory. He was our friend, our brother, and our champion. The house elves have provided snacks, Professor Sprout has brought us a memory tree which the first years will be tending as one of their assignments this year, and now you all just need to provide the stories. Tell them to each other, write them down, and drop them in the box in the corner. Your memories will feed the tree, and so Cedric will never be forgotten.

"Next week we'll be asking the rest of the students and professors to provide stories of their own, but we're starting with the people who knew Cedric best.

"I have one more thing I'd like to say while I still have your attention. I propose that we take up Cedric's legacy, and be there for each other. This today is a bit of a grand gesture, but that's not really what Cedric was about. He never seemed to lack in a kind word or helping hand, and he always seemed to know when you would need it the most. Now that he's not here, I think we should try to take that on, to the best of our abilities. If you see someone who needs something- a friend, or a tutor, or even just a smile- please give it to them. And if you need help and don't know who to ask for it, come to me. I pledge to do my part to make this a family, and that means being there for each other.

"Thank you."

She stood back and smiled happily as the students all started talking amongst themselves. She wished Cedric could be there to see the common room abuzz with his stories, but at least she knew he was there in spirit, and now he always would be.

* * *

><p>This was written for ladies_fest on lj. The original prompt was "Where did Hannah end up after the final battle?" but 8 drafts later, this is what happened.<p>

Thanks to brilligspoons for running the fest and momebie for the readthrough


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